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We really enjoyed our Sommelier Wine Tour in Barbaresco and Barolo Italy in the fall of 2023.

After having such wonderful wine tasting experiences in Italy, I went searching for an out of the ordinary wine tasting experience in the Rioja region of Spain. I came across this article “Exclusive Rioja Wine Tasting Masterclass in Laguardia.”

“Mikel didn’t stop learning there – he continued on to get a two-year degree in Viticulture! He also obtained a Wine Tourism degree through the Basque Culinary Center. Busy doesn’t even begin to describe Mikel! Between managing PR, wine tourism, and sales for the fancy Gómez Cruzado winery, taking care of his two young kids, and teaching Rioja wine classes, he’s also squeezing in a master’s degree in Wine Business Management! Needless to say, he is energetic and dynamic!

“Mikel’s Rioja masterclasses are superb. His objective with the private, personalized tastings is to introduce cult, tiny batch, garage, and super collector wines to high-end wine lovers visiting the Rioja region. He includes the small producers and vignerons that are part of the new wave of Rioja wines. They are also personal, dear friends of Mikel’s. Therefore, he has unprecedented access to rare wines.”

Yes. This experience is exactly what I was looking for. But I could find nothing in my searches about Mikel Ruiz de Vinaspre other than this article. He wasn’t on Linkedin or Facebook or Twitter. I couldn’t find any pointers for how to communicate with Mikel. The blog post shared that he worked at Gomez Cruzado in Haro, Spain. But there was no mention of Mikel on the website. I took a chance and reached out to Mikel through the winery information email address. Finally, he responded.

We had a lengthy email correspondence both about taking his Masterclass as well as enjoying one of his winery experiences at Gomez Cruzado.

The day finally arrived for our appointments to visit Gomez Cruzado AND later visiting Mikel for his Masterclass at his home in Laguardia Spain.

Haro, Spain, is home to many winery tasting rooms within easy walking distance. Unlike most of the wineries in Spain, you don’t need a reservation to have a tasting. However, we wanted to experience as much of what Mikel was involved in as possible. So we booked the Premium Experience.

Gabriela gave us a very informative tour. She shared about the whole Rioja wine region, the Basque Rioja wine region, the history of the Gomez Cruzado winery, and the process of making their fine wines.

I am fascinated with the architecture of each winery. While on the outside of the winery the walls are made of stone, on the inside beautiful old wooden beams predominate. I love the different aging barrel sizes that populate European wineries. In the US, one size of barrel tends to dominate. I couldn’t resist poking my head into the large oval wooden barrels.

After our tour, we climbed the stairs to the private tasting room above the barrel room. We tasted eight wines while enjoying a sampling of local specialties. The range of newer and older vintages of Tempranillo grapes were a joy to behold.

After leaving the winery, we wandered into the old town of Haro and enjoyed a slow “watching the world go by” lunch.

We had some time before our meeting with Mikel at his home in Laguardia so we wandered the narrow streets of the old hilltop village.

Mikel shared that there are no automobiles or trucks allowed in Laguardia as the town is built on top of layers and layers of old tunnels and caves.

At the appointed time, Mikel greeted us at his front door.

As we stepped inside, Mikel explained a bit about his home.

Mikel asked if we wanted to get started with the tasting or explore the tunnels under his home. Easy decision. Lead the way to the tunnels.

On our way to the tunnels, Mikel stopped on top of a glass floor which looked down on a 500 year old fermentation vat carved into the stone foundation of the home.

Our first stop on the way to the tunnels, was to look at the “spout” for pouring wine for the townspeople of Laguardia several hundred years ago directly from the fermentation tank.

As we descended the ancient stairs to several layers of tunnels, Mikel explained that when his father bought the house he decided to excavate the tunnels under their house. He also got permission to excavate the tunnel that runs under their neighbor’s houses. I realized that there was no railing to hold on to. Being very unsteady due to my surgically repaired right leg, Mikel said it was OK to hold on to the rock wall.

I was mortified when I dislodged one of the stones from this 500 year old stairway. Mikel assured me it was OK, but I felt like I had desecrated a piece of history.

At each level, Mikel stopped to share a bit of the history of these tunnels and caves. At this stop, he explained how the Basque and the Romans agreed not to fight with each other.

We descended to the lowest tunnel.

Mikel shared that after his father excavated this tunnel, they tried to find out what this architected cave was used for. Their home is close to the Church of Santa María de los Reyes. From their research, they believe this tunnel was used as a hidden church during times of religious persecution. We came for wine. We received a historical experience of a lifetime.

We came back to the kitchen of Mikel’s home. He prepared a collection of four very small boutique wines for us to taste.

Mikel offers his masterclass in Rioja wine to celebrate the innovation of his friends and colleagues exploring non-traditional grapes and wine making techniques in Rioja. He shared that most wine tasting experiences will only present very traditional Rioja Tempranillo wines. He wanted a way to let those of us passionate about wine know what will be coming from Rioja in the future.

What a day for Rioja wine tasting of the traditional and the innovative.

As we left Mikel’s home, I asked about the Athletic Bilbao flag above their door.

Mikel explained that everyone in Basque country is very proud of their La Liga futbol team. I didn’t realize that in order to be a member of this Basque team, you have to be born and developed your futbol skills in the Basque country. Athletic Bilbao is one of just a few teams that have never been relegated from the premier division. When you consider this residency restriction, the success of the futbol team is amazing.

At the end of this wonderful day, Mikel shared that we were the first “students” of his Masterclass that did not come through his booking agency. He let us know that we were the first visitors that ever found him on our own. I guess my research for these European trips is pretty good.

I do enjoy getting off the beaten path of a tourist as I try to become a traveler.

Peace.